


Human Connection

by madam_minnie



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 09:19:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4661190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madam_minnie/pseuds/madam_minnie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Data begins to understand what a human connection feels like through his friendship with Geordi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Human Connection

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I attempt to write in this universe as I’m brand new to it. It’s completely unbetaed and any mistakes are completely my own.

Geordi was sad. 

Data acknowledged this fact even as he calculated the size of the tachyon field where it was presumed a federation starship, similar to the _USS Hera_ had been destroyed. When the spaceship had been reported missing a year before, it was assumed all 374 crew members had perished including Captain Silva LaForge, Geordi's mother. Data understood that despite not having emotions of his own, humans often expressed theirs through physical actions and thus watched his friend carefully. Geordi's deep sigh, his chin resting on his hand as he read through the recovered logs of the Chief of Engineering from the memory link of the destroyed ship was indicative of a saddened physical state. 

"Geordi."

"Yes, Data."

"Would you prefer that I read through the logs…“

"No, I'm fine Data. I need to do this."

Data could not understand why anyone would need to subject themselves to sadness and expressed so.

“I’m not subjecting myself to sadness. I just need to know what went wrong, you know?” He walked to the schematic of the Nebula class starship on the board and sighed again. “I know it’s likely not the _Hera_ but what if the same thing that destroyed this ship was the cause of my mother’s ship’s disappearance?”

Data pondered for a moment, searching his memory banks for information on what Geordi may be implying but a subroutine must have engaged because suddenly the search parameters were for “Geordi” + “comfort” and the images portrayed were all physical in nature.

Standing, he walked to his friend and placing his hand on the man’s shoulder, he squeezed lightly. He was about to retreat his hand when Geordi placed his own over Data’s and squeezed as well.

“Thank you, Data.”

Data would later attribute his next action as a malfunction in his neural network but without really understanding why, he stepped forward, wrapped his arms around his friend and pressed his body against that of the humanoid he had come to grow great affection for.

Geordie stiffened at the contact and Data realized he was likely holding Geordi much harder than he intended but he could not bring himself to let him go. It was as if he needed the physical touch as much as he hoped Geordi did.

“Is this… acceptable?”

“Yes, Data. Thank you.”

Data’s internal chronometer would log the embrace to last exactly five minutes, thirty-three seconds but Data would omit that information from his personal log. He had learned that moments like these for humans were important for the experience, not the length of time in said experience.


End file.
